Disclaimer: Let's do the time warp again!

xoxo

Bella's POV

Being in California was doing me a world of good; the ridiculously nice weather was a welcome change from Washington's icy winters, even if the weather didn't physically affect me. I'd take the occasional grey skies and rain over the near-daily blizzards of Forks. In the two and a half weeks that had passed since my arrival into town, Jasper and I had settled into a routine that worked quite well for both of us. Jasper continued to work at Sony, and I went with him to the studio a few times. But for now, I was focusing my time on doing freelance work for a small newspaper down here. Working on my own time, taking the stories they assigned to me at seventy-five bucks a pop was a nice little distraction, but left me wanting more, and so I had started looking into editorial positions. The late hours would honestly been more suitable for me, as it would leave me free during the day, to spend time with Jasper.

Speaking of which, as I lulled about in bed, the sun streaming through the window and spilling over my skin, showing just how well the spray-tan treatments were working, Jasper came into the room, carrying two mugs. From here, I could smell the slightly bitter tang of animal blood, and the sweeter scent of human blood. Both of them had a slight edge to them, both in scent and taste, like canned food, but it was still consumable, and did the job. He handed the mug with the caricature of the bear on the side to me, keeping the one with the stick figure design for himself. The mugs were an early Christmas present from Esme, a cute and fun little present that we both enjoyed immensely.

Jasper settled down into the bed next to me, and I curled into his side, handing him the remote. Kissing my forehead, he unpaused the movie on screen, leaving both of us to our thoughts and the movie.

Christmas was twelve days away, and I had still yet to find a decent present for Jasper. Sure, I had found a few, one of which was an acoustic guitar, to replace the one he kept at home after I broke it over his head in a mock-fight, but none of them felt really significant. It didn't have the feel of a present that would mean something and would always be cherished. Subtle attempts to find out what he wanted had left me frustrated; according to him, just having me in his life was the best present. Corny, but the statement tugged at my heartstrings, leaving me feeling warm and fuzzy. When he'd look at me, his eyes, be they crimson, or violet from contacts, filled with love and warmth, it only made me more sure about my decision to spend the holidays here.

Once I finished my cup, I motioned for Jasper to hand me his empty mug, before climbing out of the bed.

"I can take those downstairs, babe," Jasper said, and I shook my head, leaning down to kiss him before backing out his reach as he made to pull me back down.

"I've got it. Don't trip, potato chip." I said playfully, and he blew a raspberry at me, pausing the movie. "It'll only be a minute." Heading down the stairs, I heard Jasper laugh.

"I'm keeping time; you've got fifty-four seconds," He called after me, and I shook my head ruefully; silly boy. Smiling, I dropped the mugs into the sink, placing the drain stopper into the sink and running the water until it warmed up. Adding a bit of soap, I filled the sink halfway and left the mugs to soak. Wiping my hands on the over-sized t-shirt, I jumped as the doorbell rang. Damn, it was barely nine. Did the housewives in this neighborhood ever sleep in? Grumbling, I made it halfway to the hallway, before the sweet, sharp scent of vampire hit me, one I was familiar with.

"Alice!" I squealed, racing down the rest of hall and flinging the door open. Alice stood on the doorstep, an outsized bag in hand, as the limo at the curb pulled away. "Can't ever arrive normally, can you?" I asked, opening the door wider and letting her step in. Jasper joined us at the door, taking Alice's bag from her and wrapping her into a quick hug.

"Hello, Alice," He said, ruffling her hair and grinning as she batted his hand away, frowning up at him. I laughed at her anger, pulling her into a hug as well. She returned the hug, still glaring up at Jasper.

"I'm not above tearing off a few of your fingers, Jasper Whitlock, if you keep messing up my hair!" She threatened, her trilling voice sounding like music to my ears and reminding me of home. Talking on the phone just wasn't the same as seeing someone in the flesh. Jasper smirked, retreating upstairs to deposit her bag in the guest room, leaving us alone in the hallway. I kicked the door close as Alice stepped back, taking in my appearance.

"You've let yourself go, Bella. All those nighties I packed, and you're in one of Jasper's t-shirts. Pah!" She scowled playfully, placing a hand on her hip. Mirroring her pose, I grinned.

"I did use those nighties. Jasper just can't take any clothing off of me without tearing it to bits," I replied, as Jasper came back into the entranceway. Alice shook her head, tsking as she did so.

"You two are a mess; it's a good thing I'm in town." She said, and I cocked my head at her, wondering what had brought her into town anyway. Her skin was carefully darkened, showing signs of a semi-recent spray tanning session; this clearly wasn't a spur of a moment visit.

"What brings you to town anyway?" I asked, and Alice and Jasper exchanged a look, before Alice looked back to me. "I don't like the look of this."

"I'm here to help both of you finish your Christmas shopping, Jasper today, you tomorrow, and then it's back to Forks for me." She replied, checking her phone. "Jasper, you need to be ready to go in twenty minutes, we have three malls to hit before we go to Sunset Strip, and if we don't leave on time, we're going to mess out on at least one great deal." Alice informed him, tapping her foot and pointing up the stairs. Jasper playfully saluted her.

"Yes ma'am. On it, right now!" Jasper said, kissing my forehead, before jogging back up the stairs. Turning to me, Alice pulled me into the kitchen, and she settled down at the island. Her golden eyes took me in, sparkling brightly. I moved to the cupboard, and then the fridge, preparing two mugs of animal blood.

"Ok, lady. I want details; how has the past couple of weeks been? Give me details I probably didn't see, but keep it PG-13." She demanded, and I shook my head, laughing. Oh, Alice.

xoxo

Ten minutes passed fairly quickly, and in those ten minutes, I came to the conclusion that Alice was scheming. She was her usual, easily excitable self, but she was fidgety, an abnormality for us. Her fingers played with the locket around her neck, reflexively opening and closing it.

Chk-chk. Chk-Chk. Chk-

Reaching out, I wrapped my free hand around hers, closing the locket and holding it closed. Alice looked up me, slightly guiltily.

"What are you scheming?" I asked, and her eyes widened marginally, before a smile crossed her lips.

"What you make you think I'm scheming?" She asked, and I released her necklace, sitting back to observe her. She immediately opened the locket, then snapped it shut. I arched an eyebrow, and her hand fell into her lap guiltily.

"Well, I had a vision awhile ago, concerning you and Jasper." Biting her lip, she looked down into her lap. "I'm not so sure how you're going to take it."

If it was possible, my stomach would be turning flip-flops. Swallowing the venom that welled up in my mouth, I nodded at her to go on.

"Well, I've been having wedding visions lately. Rosalie and Emmett aren't planning a wedding anytime soon, and neither are Tim and I. And Edward? I definitely know it isn't him." She gave me a long stare, as I processed the information. Suddenly, everything clicked.

With a gasp, the mug slipped from my grasp. Alice's hands darted out instantly, catching the cup and placing it on the counter in front of us, but I barely noticed.

Marriage. Proposals. Weddings. Flowers and white dresses and so much hoopla.

Me?

"You must have misinterpreted it," I blurted out suddenly, and Alice shot me a look that clearly said 'bitch, please.'

Placing my elbows on the counter, I buried my face in my hands, unable to stop the quiet moan from escaping. Charlie and Renee, or rather, Renee, had ruined me for marriage for life. In fact, Renee had very nearly ruined me for all dating. Her flightiness had ended in more failed relationships than I could count, growing up. It seemed that no sooner than I had gotten even remotely used to guy, they were no longer together, and she was in pieces over him. Within two days, she was 'falling fast' for another man. My move to Forks had been my own little protest to her marriage to Phil. Surprisingly, they were still going strong; had I been 'alive,' I would have been an older sister to the baby boy she had less than a year ago.

Charlie was a bit better, but not by much. Him and Billy Black were as thick as thieves when it came to 'scoring chicks,' as Billy so eloquently put it. Many of their weekend fishing trips were actually them playing wingman to each other. I was always expecting Charlie to come back with a new step-mother for me. Thankfully, he's a sight more level-headed than Renee. He had settled down considerably when I moved down here; within than first year he had began seeing Sue Clearwater, widowed only two years. And yet, here he was, settling down.

"Argh," I groaned, and Alice patted my head consolingly.

Renee's experiences alone were enough to put me off of marriage, sure. But I was older, and more wiser than she was when she took the plunge with Charlie. I could handle marriage, couldn't I? It wouldn't be a mistake, would it? Besides the fact that I hadn't even been seeing Jasper for six months at that point. And I hadn't even been entirely over Edward for a month.

But I loved Jasper, I really did. He kept a smile on my face, cheered me up when I was down. He was amazing and perfect, in every sense of the word. And best of all, he was mine.

Could I keep it that way, keep him as mine?

I looked up at Alice, who was gazing out the window thoughtfully.

"Alice," I whispered, and her head swung around. Upstairs, the shower turned off. "Is this going to work out?"

A slow smile crossed her face, one I had seen many times before. It meant things were going her way.

"Trust me, it will. I have a plan."

xoxo

Anyone else get a sinking feeling in their stomach when they read the last line? Heh heh…oh, Alice.
Sorry this chapter is so short; I've hit major writer's block that coincides with the start of the new semester. Gah. Seriously, I spent Tuesday afternoon in the library while I was waiting for a class to start so I could hopefully add in (didn't happen, which also didn't help) and I spent the majority of it with my head down on the desk, trying to process how to write this chapter. The second half of it is a major rewrite; I had initially switched to Jasper's POV, and then I realized I didn't like it…so here we are, with Bella's POV still. Also sorry for the late post; I realized I hadn't even started Chapter 22, and I don't like to post a chapter until I have the following one completed…so yeah. But, don't worry, the next chapter will more than make up for this one, I promise.

Next up? Christmas :). Read and Review! And check out Stockholm Syndrome, if you're feeling a bit angsty.